A Virtual Nightmare
by Aurora Lenore
Summary: Sequel to "Malcolm and the Space-Time Kahn-tinuum". Kilokahn is back and seemingly more powerful than ever. But instead of wanting to destroy the human world, he is focused on destroying the lives of Malcolm and Lydia. Will he succeed in his evil plan, or will help come from an unlikely source?
1. SOS

Malcolm Frink bolted upright in his bed, his sheets and pajamas drenched with sweat. _How am I still alive?_ he thought, finding it odd to hear his own heart monitor flatlining. _Wait a second…I'm still in bed…in my room…_ He glanced over and saw that the noise was none other than his alarm clock, it's continuous beep the culprit. Growling, he swiped at it, knocking it off the nightstand and on the floor. He managed a weak smile as he watched a single battery roll across the room. "That'll shut you up," he nodded in satisfaction. As he stood up and stretched, his eyes came across a familiar photo on his wall. A photo that he had looked at numerous times every day since it was taken. A color photo of himself, next to the brown-haired, blue-eyed beauty that was Lydia Henderson. She had only been gone for a month, but it felt like an eternity. "Oh, Lydia. Every day that passes is a day wasted when we're not together," he sighed, gently stroking her photographed cheek with the back of his index finger. It didn't matter to him that in reality, he was much older than she. He was seventeen and she was a time traveler from the year two thousand seventeen. The same age, but years apart. She had travelled back to his year of nineteen ninety five by accident, causing a chance encounter that he would never forget. They disliked each other immensely at the start, but yet she treated him kindly in ways that confused and astounded him. After she ended up saving his life, he realized he couldn't lose her. He _needed_ her in his life. No one else treated him like he actually mattered, and he detested most of the people he had to associate with on a daily basis, as well. But she understood him. She made him laugh and understood that he was an outcast, as was she, in her time. Not to mention their mutual attraction to one another. He couldn't believe that he let his foolishness and selfishness nearly cost him her friendship and love. Working with Kilokahn, a military-based AI program who dubbed himself "ruler of the digital world", he created clones of a mega virus monster to infect her time machine, rendering it useless so that she would have to stay. She eventually found out and he had to tell her the reasoning of why he did it. Thanks to a syber hero calling himself Servo, he defeated his monster army and she was able to go back home. Malcolm was glad she was back, but it didn't make him miss her any less. In his case, the saying was true: her absence just made his heart grow that much fonder of her. "Maybe she'll come back for a _visit_ since tomorrow is Spring break. I could cut classes and get _everything_ ready for her return. I'll make reservations for two at a nice restaurant, we could sneak in to the movie theater and enjoy the very back row to _ourselves_ …oh, the possibilities are _endless_!" he rubbed his hands together pleasurably.

But before he could gather his next thought, however, he heard a faint beeping noise. "I thought I told you to be _quiet_!" he kicked the alarm clock until it shattered against the wall. But the beeping noise didn't stop. "Oh, great; I'm going to hear it in my head all day long. Might as well go to school in hopes I can _drown_ it out with all the _other_ useless chatter. But tonight, Lydia, I will have everything ready for you. Everything you desire will be yours…especially _me_."

* * *

"Whew; four classes down and only three more to go until a week of sun, surf, sand, and Jennifer in a _smokin_ ' hot swimsuit," Sam Collins told his friends Sydney Forrester, Tanker Ellis, and Amp Ere as they made their way toward their lockers. "Life doesn't get any better than that."

"My pet ferret and I are going to start taking a meditation class," Amp piped up happily. "He's been feeling a little high-strung lately."

Sam shook his head. His crazy friend's nonsense was almost comforting in a weird way. It always made Sam realize just how normal he was. "Aw, Amp. Good, lovable, yet whimsical Amp. We need to get you out more, buddy."

When Sam turned around and saw Malcolm, he tensed up almost as much as Amp's ferret. Since his friend Lydia's departure last month, Malcolm was unpredictable at best. Some days, he was almost nice to them, while other times, he was his usual, obnoxious self. Sam cleared his throat as Malcolm had his back to them, getting books for the next class out of his locker. "So, Malcolm; you got any big plans for Spring break?"

Malcolm turned and glanced at his fingernails. "As a matter of fact, I _do_. But don't think for one _second_ I'm going to tell _you_ what they are."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Sam replied in his forced civil tone.

"Hey, Malcolm, why are you beeping?" Amp asked as if it was a normal question.

Sam listened for a second and nodded. "Yeah, I hear it, too. It's coming from your satchel."

"You all _hear_ that? I thought it was just—oh, never mind," Malcolm began rummaging around in his bag.

"Guys, that's not just any beeping; it's Morse code," Sydney joined in. Leave it to Sydney to use her mega brain to realize Morse code when she heard it. "Three short, three long, and three short again. _Whatever_ it is, it's sending out an S.O.S."

Malcolm finally pulled out a strange keychain that sure enough, was the culprit. It was oval shaped, with a red button and tiny lights that were flashing to the sound of the beeps.

"What _is_ that thing?" Tanker asked before Sam could.

"This was Lydia's. She gave it to me in case I needed to _see_ her again," Malcolm answered.

Sam would have thought he was dreaming, but Malcolm—not knowing that Lydia told them, as well—confessed that Lydia wasn't his cousin, but a time traveler from the future. "Well, it sounds like she might be in trouble, Malcolm. See what happens if you push the button," Sam reasoned.

Malcolm nodded, making sure no one else was in the hallway before pressing the button.

Sam waited a few seconds before he heard a whooshing sound and a large phone booth-sized box appeared out of nowhere. Sam recognized it from when he was able to turn into Servo and defeat the viruses inside it, but he couldn't let Malcolm know. "Is that Lydia's time machine?"

"Yes, but where _is_ she?" Malcolm wondered aloud, walking towards it.

"Guys, she's on the floor and it doesn't look good," Tanker told them, his hand on the door.

Sam raised an eyebrow curiously as Malcolm covered his ears, but uncovered them when he saw Tanker already had the door open and was by Lydia's side. "Frink, help me carry her to the bench over there," he nodded towards the end of the hall.

Sam watched as they carried a very unconscious Lydia out of the machine and placed her on the bench. Malcolm sat down next to her as her head slumped onto his shoulder.

"We need to splash her with water or something to wake her," Sydney suggested, but Amp snapped his fingers.

"I've got an idea. Be right back," he cried before dashing off.

"Maybe she's just ill or something," Sam said, trying not to notice that Malcolm was holding her hand. _Never thought I'd see the day when Malcolm would have the hots for anyone other than Jennifer,_ he thought. _But I guess even loners and outcasts can find love, too._

Amp came running down the hall and literally screeched to a halt. "Some of Mrs. Starkey's smelling salts," he said, holding the bottle under her nose.

Sam was impressed. "Good thinking, Amp. But why would Mrs. Starkey need smelling salts?"

Amp continued waving the bottle slowly back and forth under her nose. "For the new kids who aren't quite used to her cooking. I once saw an _entire_ row of foreign exchange students just fall out."

"She's waking up," Malcolm said as Lydia moved slightly, letting a moan escape her throat.

"Lydia? It's Sam. Can you tell us what happened?"

Lydia muttered something unintelligible, still trying to wake up.

"Did someone do this to you?" Sydney asked, kneeling beside her.

"Kilo…Ka…," Lydia whispered, starting to come around. She was now holding her head up and rubbing her eyes. "Kilokahn."

"Lydia, you'll have to speak up. We didn't quite hear you," Tanker told her.

Sam was beginning to get worried as she started repeating Kilokahn's name over and over. Could he have really harmed her? Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. Not at all.

* * *

Lydia knew she wasn't able to form a full sentence, but her body was so weak and her brain was still a little hazy. _I just really need to talk to Malcolm. But where is he? I hear him, but I can't really see anything._ She rubbed her eyes again and finally managed a weak "Malcolm" to resonate from her vocal cords.

"I'm right here, my darling," he replied from her left side, and she could feel him holding her hand. "Sam, no offense, but since she is _my_ girlfriend and she asked for _me_ , perhaps I should speak to her. _Alone_."

"Sure thing, Malcolm. Come on, guys. Let's give them some privacy," she heard Sam say before he and the guys quickly said their goodbyes and feel better soon wishes.

"Lydia, it's just me now. We can speak freely. What _happened_?"

Lydia swallowed hard and prayed her voice would come as quickly as her vision was returning. "Kilokahn did this."

"But _how_? You witnessed me destroying the program. He was pleading for his _life_ , remember?"

"I don't know. He must've somehow…slithered his way into my time machine's computer…right before you pressed the delete button. I just found out…knew I had to tell you, but he…caught me just before I left. He shot a laser at me…paralyzing me. I used my finger to send the…distress signal."

"Well, I'm glad you were able to. I can't believe he _tricked_ me. And he tried to _hurt_ you. He will _pay_ for this!" Malcolm stood up as anger overtook him.

Finally, Lydia found her bearings enough to stand up, as well. "I was hoping you would say that. I need your help. I need you to go forward to my time and maybe the _two_ of us can finally destroy him for good!"

Suddenly, Malcolm blinked as the reality of what she said hit him. "Wait; you need me to go to the _future_? But-but the technology is much more _advanced_ and I—"

Lydia grabbed his arms excitedly. "You'll be perfect. You are a _fantastic_ computer programmer and you know Kilokahn best. You're my only hope. Please say you'll go with me."

"Well, you make some very good points. Fine, I'll _go_ with you. When shall I be ready to leave?"

"Right now."

"Right _now_? As in this _minute_?" Malcolm repeated, eyebrows raised.

Lydia gave him an exasperated look. "Yes, right now. But we need to let Sam and Company know you're leaving with me. Just let me do the talking, though."

"Whatever you say, my love," he replied, caressing her cheek.

Lydia smiled but quickly dashed into the cafeteria where the gang was. As soon as they saw her, they rushed over, bombarding her with questions about how she was feeling.

"We were so worried," Sam told her.

"Yeah, about that…it was just human error on my part. I planned to come here but I kinda shocked myself before I could press the startup button. Only thing I knew to do was to try to make my pinky move to the emergency button that would send the signal to Malcolm's keychain. Actually, speaking of Malcolm, I came back because I need his help. We should only be gone a couple of days, though."

"Why were you muttering Kilokahn?" Sydney asked, spotting Malcolm walking up.

"Oh, _that_. Well, my computer programming class is going back in time, so to speak. We're learning about past computer programs and Kilokahn was one of them. Some military program or something. Anyway, we're doing basic coding from around the mid-nineties, so who better than Malcolm to help me? I may be a keen inventor, but when it comes to old programs, I don't know bits from bytes."

"That's easy. Bits are nibbles and bytes are _bigger_ than nibbles," Amp chimed in.

"Wait a second; what about Spring break? Ours is next week…when is _your_ Spring break?" Tanker asked.

Lydia gulped. Uh-oh. She forgot about Spring break. "Um, well in Brooklyn, it's not _officially_ Spring until around May, so ours is much later," she quickly replied.

"Oh," Tanker grimaced. "That bites."

"Yeah. Well, Malcolm and I had better be going, but I'll stay for a bit after I bring him back," she told them.

"You promise?" Sam asked.

Lydia nodded but Amp put his pinky up in the air. "Pinky promise?"

"Oh, she said she _promised_ , Amp. Must you always act like a _child_?" Malcolm snapped.

Lydia smiled apologetically and linked pinkies with Amp. "Pinky promise. Bye, guys."

"Bye, Malcolm. Bring us back something from the future, okay?" Sam asked.

Malcolm gave him a "we'll see" look and followed Lydia out of the cafeteria.

"It's not officially Spring until _May_?" he teased when they were out of earshot.

Lydia shrugged. "I panicked, okay? Besides, it _worked_ , didn't it?"

"Touché," Malcolm responded and Lydia giggled. She hated lying to her friends, but they would all want to come and help defeat Kilokahn and Malcolm would have a fit at both their persistence and knowing that Sam was Servo. Kilokahn was all too real for all of them, but for now, she just needed to keep his presence under her and Malcolm's proverbial hats. Besides, all they had to do was find Kilokahn and delete him for good. How hard could that _possibly_ be?


	2. See You On the Other Side

"Wait; where's your time machine? I don't _see_ it now," Malcolm observed as they walked back down the hallway. As excited as he was about going to the future—or _anywhere_ , for that matter—with her, he felt a tad apprehensive. What if Lydia had put too much faith in him? What if he couldn't learn her technological advances and Kilokahn could no longer be destroyed with just a push of a button?

"I made a modification to it. After a certain time, it becomes invisible. You like?"

"I _love_ it," he laughed, pushing back his anxiety. That feeling could take a long hike on a short trail, as far as he was concerned. He watched as she tapped the air twice and the machine reappeared, lights and all.

"Are you ready to see the future?" she asked, stepping into the machine.

"Most definitely," he nodded, following her inside. "But there's something I need to do _first_."

Before Lydia could say anything, he placed his hand on the back of her head and kissed her longingly. He had been wanting to kiss her for a month. There was no way he was squandering the chance while he had it. Finally, they broke apart and he smiled with satisfaction. "There. Now I'm ready for _anything_."

Lydia blinked, taken aback but not complaining. "Okay, then. Hold on tight. Two thousand seventeen, here we come!"

"Well, hello, Meat-Things," a familiar voice—and face to match—appeared on the monitor. " _Going_ somewhere?"

"You listen to me, you waste of _syberspace_ ," Malcolm threatened. "When I get through with you, you'll be trying to unscramble your RAM for _centuries_!"

"My, my; quite open with the threats, aren't we?" Kilokahn quipped. "Well, think again, Malcolm Meat-Thing, because your fun is just beginning."

"As soon as I get home, you'll be sorry, Kilo Creep!" Lydia scoffed, but Malcolm was sure he heard a quiver in her voice.

"No, _you'll_ be the ones who are sorry! You don't know what pain is yet. But you _will_ ," he laughed.

"Buckle up, buttercup. We'll see you on the other side," Lydia muttered before pressing the start button on the machine.

Malcolm nearly lost his balance, but Lydia grabbed him around the waist from her spot on her stool to steady him. As much as he was enjoying her holding him, he realized they were still shifting through time and space. "I hate to sound so cliché, but are we _there_ yet?"

"Something's wrong. We're not going where I've set the machine. It's like it's on autopilot," Lydia replied, trying to type different coordinates into the computer.

" _I'm_ piloting your machine now," Kilokahn said happily from the monitor screen. "Next stop is what I call virtual reality _hell_. Enjoy!"

Malcolm looked over at Lydia before they clutched each other tightly, terrified. How did Kilokahn get so powerful? And what exactly is a virtual reality? Whatever the answers were, this was not looking good. Damn his anxieties. And his intuition.

* * *

Amp knew he should have been paying attention, but he couldn't get his mind to focus. _I know Lydia said she and Malcolm were just going to work on a class assignment, but everyone knows that Spring doesn't really start in Brooklyn until June,_ he thought to himself. _Something is rotten in Delaware, that's for sure._

"Um, Amp? The bell just rang. That means class is over," Tanker tapped him on the shoulder.

Amp looked to see he was still sitting at his desk. "I knew that. I was waiting for my little toe to wake up," he lied.

A few seconds later, he grabbed his books and headed to his locker.

"Wow, Amp. You're more of a space cadet today than usual. What's the matter?" Sam asked.

"I think he's like all of us," Sydney chimed in. "Still a little shaken from seeing Lydia unconscious. Am I right, Amp?"

"Mmm-hmm. I bet I know what Malcolm and Lydia are doing right now."

"Working on exciting computer programs together?" asked Sydney.

"Eating spaghetti tacos?" Tanker suggested.

"Making out?" Sam winked.

"No, you're all wrong. I bet Malcolm isn't _really_ helping her with computers. They've probably gone back in time to…ancient _Egypt_ to learn about Lydia's ancestor, Pharaoh Aukatok."

"Pharaoh _Aukatok_?" Sam repeated. "Amp, have you been eating your toothpaste again?"

"Only a couple of licks. But think about it; going into the future to work on a class assignment? That sounds so…un-Malcolm."

Sam laughed. "I know, but what can I say? It's obvious the guy's in love. Just like I am with Jennifer. I'd watch _paint_ dry if it meant being with her."

Amp couldn't relate, but he smiled and nodded, anyway. He had a feeling deep down in his gut that something bad was going to happen. He just wished he knew what it was so he could warn his friends. _It's probably just another mega-virus monster that Servo will have to—oh, wait. Ever since Kilokahn disappeared, Servo's been unemployed. Hmmm…or maybe I just ate too much of Mrs. Starkey's meatloaf surprise again._

"So, are we gonna cover for Frink since he's off doing whatever with his girlfriend?" Tanker asked.

"I guess we should. Not for him as much as for Lydia," Sam pointed out. "She needed help and Malcolm is really good with computers."

Sydney crossed her arms over her chest. "And what am I, chopped liver and onions?"

"Ew, I hope not! I'm _allergic_ to onions!" Amp cried out, stepping away from her.

"Of course not, Syd," Sam replied, ignoring Amp. "You are an _amazing_ computer programmer. But Lydia's not really _into_ you like that."

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Sam," she rolled her eyes but smiled.

Amp listened to the rest of their conversation as they headed towards their sixth period class. He loved his friends dearly, but why weren't they sharing in his uneasiness?

Suddenly, it hit him. "Guys, I need you to cover for me! I gotta go to the little boy's room…now!" _Yep, it was the meatloaf._

* * *

Lydia clutched tightly to Malcolm as her time machine continued to spin out of control. She wanted to cry, but she wasn't about to give Kilokahn the satisfaction of seeing her tears. _Thank God Malcolm and I are both wearing our black boots; we're going to need them when we eventually kick Kilokahn's ass,_ her braver inner voice stated. Her other voice—the more terrified one—was asking her why she didn't take Sam to the side and tell him what was _really_ going on.

"Are you ready to have a little bit of fun?" Kilokhan chuckled before murmuring, "I lie."

"Where are you _taking_ us, Kilokahn?" Malcolm asked, his voice about an octave higher. Lydia was glad she wasn't the only one a little scared.

"To your worst nightmare," he growled.

Lydia swallowed the panic rising in her throat as best she could. "You can't create your own mega-viruses to save your life but yet you can control my _machine_?"

"Let's just say I've found a new partner. And they are much more loyal and destructive than you ever were, Malcolm Meat-Thing."

"A _new_ partner?" Lydia and Malcolm repeated in unison before the machine stopped and abruptly landed, causing them to tumble to the floor.

"I take it this isn't your house?" Malcolm grunted.

Lydia slowly stood and helped Malcolm to his feet. "Sadly, no. First off, my house isn't this dark." She looked around to see that they were in what looked to be the middle of a thick forest. "Nor do we have trees indoors."

Malcolm turned back to the monitor angrily. "Where are we, you—oh, great; he's _gone_."

"Looks like we're on our own, then." Lydia opened one of the drawers inside her machine and pulled out two identical keychains. "Here, take one. It'll put out enough light to see where we're going."

Malcolm nodded and turned his on as soon as they exited the machine. "Well, _this_ looks rather ominous."

Lydia squirmed as she untangled herself from a spiderweb between two trees. "Yuck." This place screamed Halloween horror movie. But which villain would they walk up on? Freddy? Jason? The headless horseman?

"Hello?" Malcolm called out. "Is anyone out here?"

 _Yep, we're going to chopped and sliced for sure,_ Lydia thought, not daring to even move. "Malcolm, we need to get out of here and fast. I don't like this at all."

"Well, surely there has to be _someone_ out here who can help us. Maybe if we went _that_ way," he shined the flashlight down to show a small clearing, "we'll have better luck."

Lydia nodded and started to follow him.

 _SNAP!_

Lydia gasped and turned around as she heard what sounded like a tree branch snapping. "Did you hear that?"

"I thought that was—" Malcolm began, but he didn't finish his sentence.

"You thought that was what?" she pressed, turning back to him. "Malcolm!" she cried when she saw that he was on the ground, unconscious. _This just went from bad to worse,_ she thought seconds before she felt something hard strike the back of her head and the world went black.


	3. You Haven't Seen Anything Yet

When Lydia opened her eyes, she saw Malcolm standing over her, hand out to help her. Grateful, she took it and he helped her to her feet. Her face flushed a little as she realized how close they were to one another. She closed her eyes in anticipation of his kiss, but she only heard him whisper into her ear, "Come with me."

Nodding, she opened her eyes again and saw that they were back at Malcolm's house, him leading her up the stairs. His usual black long sleeved button-down shirt and black trousers were now replaced with a black tuxedo. Looking down at her own attire, she noticed her denim leggings and long-sleeved maroon shirt had turned into a very sexy violet dress that showed every curve. _How can I afford this? s_ he thought as she noticed how it shimmered when the light caught it and the way it fit her perfectly.

As they reached Malcolm's room, everything looked the same as it did before: dark, with only his plasma globe and decorative lights on his desk glowing enough to see. But suddenly, soft electronic music filled the air and the room began to smell of lavender and chamomile. What was _happening_?

"Do you like what you hear, my darling?" Malcolm purred, holding her close and slow-dancing with her.

"It sounds like Eric Prydz with maybe a hint of Deorro," she replied with a smile. "Who's the artist?"

"Why, _me_ , of course. This is a Malcolm Frink original."

"You…wrote this?" she smiled, feeling slightly intoxicated from the music and the scents that filled the air. "It's beautiful."

"You haven't seen _anything_ yet, love," he replied as he grabbed a remote from the desk and pushed a button. As he did, several multicolored laser lights beamed around the room. She smiled as she noticed smoke rising from the floor from a nearby smoke machine.

"This is _incredible_ , Malcolm," she cooed, her voice a bit slurred. What was happening to her? It was as if she were under a spell. She allowed him to take her in his arms again and they slow-danced, resting her head on his shoulder.

She sighed with contentment as he began softly singing to her, his voice as smooth as velvet. _So much for virtual reality hell. This is sheer heaven,_ she thought as she began to feel lighter than air. "Are we flying now?" she asked giddily before she felt icy coldness all around her. She broke apart and looked to see that she and Malcolm were both soaking wet. _What on Earth?_

Suddenly, the room and everything disappeared and reality slapped her in the face. She _was_ wet! Somehow, she found herself back outside in the darkness, but now trying to stay afloat in a river! _Malcolm! Where is Malcolm?_ her mind screamed as she went under for a brief moment. She had to find him.

"Malcolm!" she gasped for air, fighting the river's strong current.

"Lydia? Lydia, where are you? _Help_!" she heard Malcolm's strangled pleas and she tried to swim towards the direction of his voice.

"Malcolm, hang on; I'm coming," she called out, but the current pulled her under again and she had to use all her strength to keep her head above the water.

"Lydia, I _can't_ …too strong!" Malcolm was obviously panicking.

"Don't panic, Malcolm," she warned, continuing to try and swim to him. He was within view, but he was still flailing about.

 _He's going to go under if he doesn't stop,_ she thought, and as if on cue, she watched in horror as Malcolm's head and arms went completely under. "No! I did not have a drunken dream like that just to lose you now," she said, allowing herself to go under and grab him under his arms from behind. When she came back up for air, she swam as hard as she could until they reached the bank. Exhausted and panting, she pulled him onto the grassy surface and checked to make sure he was still breathing. When she found that he indeed was, she breathed a sigh of relief and pulled a string of what looked like seaweed from her hair. _Something tells me Kilokahn is going to make sure neither of us get out alive. Which is why it's so important that we find some way out of here and neutralize that programmed son of a bitch first._

* * *

Malcolm's eyes shot open and he instantly began gagging and sputtering water from his mouth. He felt someone lift his head slightly and he groaned from exhaustion. "What… _happened_? Why am I all _wet_?"

"We took a little unexpected swim. One minute, we were looking around and the next minute, I wake up and we're in the river."

"Lydia," he breathed, happy to see her. He still wasn't sure he understood what happened, but as he touched the back of his head, he remembered something or someone striking him after they arrived. "Oh, my head," he muttered.

"Yeah. Someone clocked us pretty good before tossing us in the river."

Malcolm groaned once again and slowly stood, with a little help from Lydia. "We have to find _somewhere_ to get warm and dry before we catch our _death_ of cold," he told her. He gently placed his arm around her, both to keep her warm and to keep himself warm as well. "Do you still have your flashlight? I lost mine… _somewhere_."

"Yeah," she replied, pulling hers out of her pocket and turning it on. "Hey, It looks like there's a house or something just over that hill."

Malcolm shivered. "Why do I suddenly feel like I'm starring in a clichéd science fiction slash _horror_ movie?"

Lydia giggled. "Maybe it's the lair of a evil scientist who has a magical changing coffin."

"Oh, _that's_ right; just like in that movie we watched," Malcolm recalled with a chuckle. "I wish we were back at my house _watching_ the movie instead of possibly _living_ it."

A few minutes later, they reached the front door. Thankfully, it wasn't a castle or an evil lair. It was better: it was a beautiful mansion. The grey stoned walls made it look ancient yet still stylish and Malcolm counted at least nineteen windows just on the front side of the building. The double doors were wide and made of cherry oak, and the entire sight of it made Malcolm tingle all over _. One day, I'll live in a beautiful place like this and my enemies will be my servants. Lydia and I will want for nothing. We'll be together forever in our perfect home,_ he thought to himself happily.

"Well," Lydia sighed as she walked up the stairs and under the veranda to the door. "Let's see what it looks like inside." She lifted her finger to ring the doorbell, but Malcolm quickly grabbed the latch on the door and pushed it open.

"Oh, _look_ ," he replied smugly. "It appears to be unlocked."

"Yay."

Malcolm led the way inside and whistled as they stood inside the roomy foyer. "This place is _incredible_!"

"Can we just find a fireplace to get warm? I'm tired of freezing."

Malcolm looked at her, disappointment on his face. "Lydia, I think you are wonderful, but since when did you become such a wet blanket?"

Lydia audibly growled and Malcolm knew he had chosen his words poorly. "I think perhaps the family room is this way," he quickly pointed to the right. "Let's find that _fireplace_ , shall we?" _Note to self: Lydia's personality strongly resembles that of a feral cat when wet,_ he mentally added.

* * *

"I thought Malcolm and Lydia would be _back_ by now," Sydney sighed, looking at her watch.

"Maybe they went to dinner. If Frink wants to keep her, he'd better treat her like a lady and lose that chip on his shoulder," Tanker snorted.

Sam laughed good-naturedly. "Aw, I'm sure if any one can handle Malcolm's mood swings, it's Lydia."

Amp set down his bass guitar and sighed. "If they're even _at_ Lydia's house. I bet they aren't even on this _planet_! They probably went to Planet Saffron to visit all those aliens. I bet Lydia can even speak _Saffrese_."

"Amp, knock it off already," Tanker warned.

"Yeah, Amp; I'm sure they're fine and still on Earth. Sad that we can't always say the same for you," Sam patted him on the back.

"Well, I'm here now," Amp responded with a nod before leaning down to re-tie his sneakers. "Still no sign of Kilokahn, Sydney?"

Sydney turned to them from where she sat at Sam's computer. "Nope. All clear in the digital world. It's so weird. It's like when Lydia left last month, _Kilokahn_ left, as well."

"I know. Do you think she found a way to delete him _permanently_?" Sam wondered aloud.

"I still don't get why she kept saying his name earlier," Amp slumped down in Sam's maroon chair sadly.

Sydney smiled. "Well, she said her computer class was studying old programs and that Kilokahn was one of them. I'm sure she didn't want to tell Malcolm for fear of blowing our cover, but I'm sure the name stuck out like a sore thumb."

Amp opened his mouth to segue about having a sore thumb once, but Tanker cut him off. "True. I'm glad we were able to trust Lydia with our secret. Even if she _did_ spy on us."

Amp nodded in agreement. He couldn't help but feel a connection with Lydia. Maybe it was because she laughed at his jokes. Or maybe it was because he was really her future dad. Either way, he really liked her and respected her. Even if he still thought she was lying to them about needing Malcolm to help with a class assignment. Regardless of what was really going on, he wished she and Malcolm would hurry back. He could really use someone to laugh at his strange sense of humor. _I don't know what see possibly sees in Malcolm Frink. Except for the fact that he has great hair, he likes to draw, and he dresses pretty nice, he doesn't seem to have much else going for him. And he doesn't laugh at my jokes. Just at my expense._


	4. Listen More and Speak Less

As he watched Lydia sleeping peacefully in front of the fireplace, Malcolm's mind went back to everything that happened since their departure from North Valley High. Kilokahn now was more powerful than ever, thanks to some other cretin doing his bidding. They had already nearly perished by drowning in a river with a significantly strong stream. But thankfully now they were both warm and dry by the fireplace inside this gorgeous mansion in which Kilokahn was nowhere to be found. Malcolm stifled a chuckle as he remembered suggesting that it would be best if they got _out_ of their wet clothes. An idea worth verbalizing, but also an idea that Lydia shot down like Old Yeller. But now, as he was sitting in an easy chair while she was curled up on a faux bearskin rug, he felt completely content. Kilokahn tried and failed to get his revenge on them and they were having the last laugh. It was poetic, in a way. Soon, the predator would become the prey when they managed to track him down and remove him from the digital world forever.

"All warm and dry, Meat-Things?"

Malcolm jumped and looked above the fireplace to see Kilokahn on a large, flat monitor. "Kilokahn, how did you—?"

"Oh, you didn't think your nightmare was _over_ , did you? Oh, no; it's only just beginning. I have _much_ more in store for you and the Lydia meat-thing. Much, _much_ more."

Malcolm looked at Lydia, who was stirring slightly. "What's going on?" she groaned, sitting up and stretching.

"Aw, did I wake you from your slumber?" Kilokahn mocked.

"You've gotta be kidding me. You're on TV now? Too bad it's not _The Gong Show_."

"I'd listen more and speak less if I were you. Starting now," Kilokahn growled before disappearing.

"Listen more and speak less? What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Malcolm queried.

Lydia stood up without a word and within seconds, Malcolm's questions were answered as a rhythmic ticking could be heard somewhere in the distance. It sounded almost like a watch or a clock or a…

"A _bomb_!" Malcolm screeched, his entire body tensing.

"It sounds like it's coming from the next room, maybe," Lydia instantly jumped into action as they ran into the master suite.

Malcolm realized she was right as the ticking was even louder. "Quick! Look under the bed and in the bureau and _I'll_ check the closet."

As soon as Malcolm opened the closet, the only things he found were piles of shoes, which he began tossing about wildly. He could still hear the ticking, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from. As soon as the closet had been cleared, he ran over to the window and threw open the curtains. _Aha!_ There behind the curtain was the car battery-sized bomb. "I found it!"

"We gotta get rid of it," Lydia shrieked, running over and nearly tripping over a throw pillow in the floor. "It's gonna blow in exactly _two_ minutes!"

Malcolm looked at it and was instantly hit with déjà vu. He had seen this bomb before, but _where_?

"Malcolm, stop _staring_ at it and help me figure out what to do," Lydia whined.

"No, wait. I-I've _seen_ this. Yes, of _course_! This bomb is an exact replica from a _computer_ game I used to play. In the game, I had to disarm it by cutting the correct wire." _Too bad it's been about a year since I played it,_ he thought to himself.

Lydia ran over to the nightstand and jerked the drawer open, throwing things out until she found a switchblade knife. "Here. Get to work," she handed it to him.

Malcolm gulped. "It's been a while since I played the game and I'm not sure I remember _how_ to do it."

"Well, you have one minute left to remember before we get blown to bits. So _remember already_!"

"Okay, _okay_ ," he replied before muttering under his breath about the various colored wires. Was it the green or the blue wire? And what did the white one do? _Think, Frink, think._

"Thirty one seconds, but no pressure," Lydia snapped, pacing the now cluttered room.

Malcolm wiped the sweat from his brow and closed his eyes to concentrate. He had played this game numerous times before and was able to diffuse the fake bomb with no problem. If only this bomb was _also_ a fake…

* * *

"Seven…six…five…four," Lydia counted, closing her eyes. "Goodbye, Malcolm!"

When she had mentally finished counting down, she didn't feel the Earth shake or see a bright light. Nothing.

"I _did_ it," Malcolm whispered.

Lydia opened her eyes and saw that the bomb was frozen at one second and the blue wire had been cut. "You _did_ it?"

"I _did_ it!" he cried, and Lydia tackled him happily.

"I never doubted you for a moment," she lied before kissing him.

"Never, huh?" he grinned. "What I _don't_ understand is why did Kilokahn send a bomb from a video game that I had played before and _won_?"

"Did Kilokahn know you played the game?" she asked, standing up and brushing herself off.

"I think so. He interrupted my _playing_ it enough times."

Lydia began casually cleaning the room of the mess, wondering the same thing. Kilokahn definitely wanted to kill them, but sending a bomb he knew Malcolm had a chance of diffusing? That was weird, even for Kilokahn. Maybe he thought and hoped that Malcolm would forget or panic. _This time we got lucky, but what if next time, he does something that neither one of us has a chance at surviving?_ Maybe it was time to call in reinforcements. Even at the risk of seeing Malcolm's head implode. Desperate times called for desperate measures. And if they could only find a computer, maybe—

"Malcolm, I need you to help me find a computer or a laptop. I have an idea," she said.

"Okay, but what is this _idea_? As long as it involves destroying Kilokahn, I'm all _for_ it."

"I'll tell you as soon as we find one."

As Lydia went upstairs to the second floor, Malcolm decided to stay on the first to look. _Bedroom, bedroom, storage room, game room, sunroom…_

"Come back downstairs, Lydia! There is a _ginormous_ one in the study!" Malcolm called out.

When she found the study, her jaw dropped. The screen was at least twenty-four inches wide and the keyboard and mouse looked like toys in comparison. Taking a deep breath, she motioned for Malcolm to sit in the expensive leather chair at the computer table. "Before I tell you my idea, I have to tell you the truth. I wanted to tell you before, but it wasn't my secret to tell."

Malcolm sat down and steepled his fingers together. "The truth about _what_ , exactly?"

Lydia hesitated for a moment before answering. "I-I know who Servo is."

"You know who _Servo_ is?" he repeated, eyes wide, leaning forward.

"Servo is none other than your _frienemy_ , Sam Collins," she winced, waiting for the explosion.

"Sam _Collins_? _The_ Sam Collins? He's _Servo_? But _how_?"

Lydia pulled out a smaller chair from the corner of the room and sat down. "I don't know. I sort of found out accidentally. That night I was supposed to listen to him and his friends rehearse, they saw a virus. _Your_ virus. Next thing I know, they make up some lame ass excuse about homework and send me away. But I peeked around the corner and saw Sam get _zapped_ into the computer. I think his pals help him out somehow, too. I know I probably should have told you, but I had a lot going on at that time. It's also when I realized you drew viruses and _Kilokahn_ wasn't just some cosplaying kid with no ambition."

"I knew I hated him for another reason other than being with Jennifer! He defeated every single _one_ of my creations. _Damn_ that Sam Collins," Malcolm cursed, but Lydia was relieved that he wasn't as angry as she expected. "Anyway, what does _that_ have to do with what is going on _now_?"

Lydia reached into her back pants pocket and pulled out a very small device. "If we plug in my tiny thumb drive into the computer, we can pull up Sam's IP address from back in time. Don't ask me how; I stole it from my father and always keep it with me. Once we do that, we can _communicate_ with him and maybe he can zap into Servo and come help us. The others, as well. It couldn't hurt to have safety and strength in numbers, right?"

Malcolm leaned back in the chair and Lydia knew he was not pleased. "So, you want _Servo_ to come and save the day yet again? Are you forgetting that Kilokahn is much more _powerful_ than ever? And what about _us_? I thought _I_ was your only hope. I'll be damned if I let Servo save the day and come out as the _hero_ while you and I end up as his Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. I can't believe you are putting more faith in him than in _me_ ," he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in a defiant pout.

"Oh, Malcolm, quit being such a _baby_. I never said Servo can _save_ us. But maybe he can help us. Kilokahn may be able to distract two of us, but what if there were six of us? And maybe they can help us figure out what—or _who_ —is helping him. It can't hurt for them to at least know the truth about what's happening, right?"

Lydia waited for Malcolm to come to his senses. She never expected him to like her plan, but if they were going to defeat Kilokahn, Malcolm surely had to know that six heads were better than two. Especially when all six had dealt with such a sick and twisted program.

After a few minutes,Malcolm finally sighed. "Alright, _fine_. Call up the precious _Servo_ , aka Sam Collins and tell him what's going on. But when he and his buffoons can't figure out a way to help get us out of here, I owe you a loud and deliberate 'I told you so'," he muttered.

Lydia gave Malcolm a sideways hug and a kiss on the cheek before inserting her thumb drive into the slot. Hopefully, her dad's awesome invention worked…even if it had gotten a little wet.


	5. We Have A Situation

Malcolm might have seemed calm on the outside, but inside, he was fuming. There was no way in _hell_ he was going to let Sam save them and be proclaimed a hero yet again. If Sam and his cronies were bent on coming to their rescue, Malcolm would make sure they would never see the light of day again. Servo might have won many—okay, _all_ —of the battles against his mega-virus monsters, but he would not win the war. Malcolm would find a way to save himself and Lydia, defeat Kilokahn and his new silent partner, and then snuff out Sam for _good_. If his friends got in the way, they would just have to die, too. But right now, he had to pretend to be the angelic Malcolm. It made him sick to his stomach, but if he had to do it to keep on Lydia's good side, so be it.

"So is this thumb drive like a floppy? It holds tons of information and _data_?" he asked after a couple of minutes.

Lydia nodded and typed in Sam's IP address and the date when they left. A part of him wanted to ask how she knew such personal information, but he knew Lydia could be quite crafty. _She probably knows my IP address as well as my social security number and mother's maiden name,_ he thought.

"And, _viola_ ," she said, purposefully butchering 'voila' like the villain in the movie they watched. "We have visual of Sam's basement."

"Oh, _bother_ ; it looks as if no one is home," he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he viewed the empty room.

"Not so fast. I see a foot in the corner of the screen to the left. A large white sneaker with laces untied. Which could only mean that someone _is_ there."

Malcolm closed his eyes and shook his head, a moan escaping his throat. "You have to be _kidding_ me. You're going to ask _Amp_ to help us?"

"Amp can let Sam and the others know we need help, Malcolm," Lydia pointed out before leaning closer to the giant monitor. "Amp? Amp, can you hear me?"

Malcolm watched as Amp stood up and looked around. "Mother?" he asked.

Malcolm rolled his eyes. "No, you _moron_ ; it's Malcolm and Lydia. Look at the computer screen, if it isn't too tough a _task_ for you."

Amp slowly walked over to the screen and waved. "Hi, guys. How did you get in Sam's computer?"

Lydia smiled. "It's a long story. Look, Kilokahn trapped us somewhere, I think, in the digital world. He's more powerful than he was and we're in trouble. Can you tell Sam and the others we need their help? I'm sending you the data of where I believe Kilokahn sent us."

"I _knew_ you and Malcolm weren't really working on a class project!"

" _Congratulations_ , give the boy a _medal_ ," Malcolm snarled. "Can you give Collins the message or _can't_ you?"

"Sure thing. The guys went back to school cause Sam forgot a textbook, but as soon as they come back, I'll let them know what's going on," Amp told them.

"Thank you, Amp. Thank you very much," Lydia smiled again and Malcolm wanted to vomit. How could she be so nice to that lobotomized freak?

Amp blushed. "Aw, you're welcome, Lydia. Bye, now!"

Lydia disconnected the thumb drive from the modem and Sam's basement disappeared from view. "And now, we wait."

"Amp had better come through or _else_ ," Malcolm growled. He couldn't wait until Sam and the others showed up. It was time for him and his goody-two-shoes pals to meet their maker. And Malcolm was eager to lead the way. _If I can somehow tell Kilokahn that Sam is really Servo, he'll stop at nothing to destroy him. And he might even be so grateful that he'll grant Lydia and myself a pardon back home. Lydia will be devastated, but I'll be there to comfort her. Pretty soon, she'll forget all about Sam Collins and those Samurai buffoons and it will just be she and I, happy and forever in love._

* * *

As soon as Amp heard his friends' voices outside the basement door, he ran up the stairs to meet them. "Guys, we have a situation."

"Whoa, Amp; where's the fire?" Sam joked as he, Tanker, and Sydney entered the room.

"Lydia and Malcolm are in trouble and need our help," he tried again.

"They were _here_?" Tanker asked, sounding disappointed.

Amp nodded. "Well, sorta. They were on the computer. I was right about them not really working on a class project. They said Kilokahn had _trapped_ them somewhere in the digital world and they needed our help to fight him," he told them, hoping he hadn't forgotten anything.

Sam sat Amp down. "Look, I gotta admit; that story sounded more plausible than the others, but I've told you before; they're fine. Kilokahn has been long gone and Lydia wouldn't lie to us."

"Yeah, Amp," Tanker snorted. "Give it up already."

Amp stood back up, aggravated. "If you don't believe me, turn on the computer. They were right _there_ , asking for help. Even Malcolm."

Sydney went to the computer and turned it on, but the screen only revealed a document Sam had been working on for a science report. "See, Amp? It's just like it was when we left," she turned around, gesturing to the screen with her hand. "If they needed us, they wouldn't show up on the computer. How could they do that from the future unless they had some bizarre computer that could reach into the _past_? Lydia gave us the keychain she gave to Malcolm. One S.O.S. signal and we could just call her back."

"Then call her back _now_. Push the button," Amp quipped. How could this be happening? Didn't they see that he was really telling the truth this time?

"Fine, I _will_ ," Sydney snapped back, reaching for the keychain, but Sam grabbed it and put it in his pocket.

"Guys, come on. Syd is right. If she was in trouble, she'd use this to reach us. There's no need to call her and interrupt her. I've got a _better_ idea. How about we all go grab a burger?"

"Mmm…I'm starved," Tanker rubbed his belly.

"But…But…I'm telling the _truth_!" Amp exclaimed, his face turning red.

"Amp, would you stop already? They're _not_ in ancient Egypt, they're _not_ on another planet, and they're _not_ trapped in the computer," Tanker barked. "Now, let's go get something to eat. You'll feel better after you've had some onion rings."

Amp dramatically dropped back down in the red chair and crossed his arms defiantly. "I'm not hungry and I'm not going. Some friends _you_ are."

Sam sighed. "Okay, suit yourself. We'll bring you back a doggy bag. Come on, guys."

Amp watched as they slowly climbed upstairs and growled in frustration as soon as they were gone. "But Lydia and Malcolm really _did_ come on the computer and ask for help. I might have made that other stuff up before, but I can't believe my so-called friends wouldn't believe me _now_."

He stood up again and began pacing nervously. "What am I going to do? If Sam and the gang won't believe me, then it's up to _me_. If _they_ won't save them, then I _will_. But how?"

He paced again for a couple more minutes before snapping his fingers. " _Aha_! I'll use Vitor to go into the digital world and find them." Running to the computer, he saved and exited out of Sam's document and scratched his head. "I _think_ I remember how Syd did this."

A minute later, he pulled up the Servo program and clicked on the Vitor fighter jet in the arsenal programs. "Okay. Here goes nothing," he gulped before standing up and walking in front of the red chair. "I guess I'll have to say everyone's parts. Let's _Samurize_ , guys…let's kick some _giga_ -butt…pump up the _power_ …one for the money, two for a _dollar_!"

As soon as he finished, he felt his familiar electrical charge before being zapped into the computer. "Hang on tight, Lydia and Malcolm; Vitor is on the—"

Suddenly, he looked down and saw his arms and hands instead of his usual suit and saw that he wasn't inside his ship. "Wait; this isn't right. I'm supposed to be inside—"

His sentence was cut short, however, by his own screaming as he felt himself flying—or falling—through the pink holographic tunnel that led to the digital world.

* * *

"What have you _done_?" Kilokahn asked angrily on the computer screen seconds after Lydia shoved the thumb drive back into her pocket. "Who did you contact?"

"We called in reinforcements, Kili-baby. You have a partner, and we felt left out. So we're about to get partnered up, as _well_ ," Lydia smirked.

"How _dare_ you! I am _Kilokahn_ , overlord of the digital _world_! I will-"

Lydia grabbed Malcolm's arm and shoved him back from the now smoking computer as she, too, shot up from her seat and moved back.

"It's gonna blow!" Malcolm shouted a split second before the computer, monitor and all, exploded. They barely managed to duck in time to dodge the flying computer debris.

"How on Earth are Servo and Company supposed to zap themselves here _now_?"

"And why do I have a feeling Kilokahn had _nothing_ to do with the explosion?" Malcolm queried.

Suddenly, both of them heard a faint screaming noise, followed by a loud crash in the family room.

"I think we may just have found the answer to my question," Lydia looked at Malcolm.

"The _television_!" they both replied in unison.


	6. Casa de Kilokahn

" _Oof_!"

Amp instantly felt the impact of himself slamming into a hard surface and he fought to stay conscious. Every nerve inside of him twitched and ached, but at least he knew his long, wild journey through the digital world had ended. Now he just needed to figure out where he _was_.

"Amp!" a familiar voice cried out. But whose voice was it? His mom? Sydney?

"What's _he_ doing here?" another, more distasteful voice asked. He knew that snarky voice anywhere: Malcolm Frink.

"Amp, are you okay? What happened?"

"I came…to save…Lydia," he managed to reply before slowly opening one eye and looking up to see the welcoming face of the person he was speaking of.

"Well, whoop de _doo_ , tell us something we _don't_ know…like when will the _rest_ of the stooges arrive?"

Amp stood up with Lydia's help and brushed himself off. "Oh, about that. They're not coming."

"What do you _mean_ , 'they're not _coming_ '?" Malcolm placed his hands on his hips angrily.

"They didn't believe me. They thought I was making it up. See, I kinda knew you were lying about why you wanted Malcolm, so I might have told the guys some of my ideas earlier."

Lydia grimaced. "Oh, boy. Well, we can't use the computer to connect to them anymore. Kilokahn—or his new pal—caused the computer to explode. It seems invitations weren't allowed. I'm sorry I lied, but I just didn't want you all to worry. I thought Malcolm and I could handle Kilokahn _easily_. Apparently, I was wrong. So _very_ wrong."

"Aw, it's okay," he smiled sheepishly. "I'm just glad I didn't have to travel to Planet _Saffron_."

Malcolm rolled his eyes. "Well, we're obviously doomed _now_. I can't believe the _only_ help we can manage to get is the one person who's _dumber_ than a sack of _hammers_!"

"I am _not_ dumb, Malcolm," Amp seethed. "I may be quirky, but I'm not dumb. And leave tools out of this!"

"Guys, _stop_ ," Lydia put her hands up in protest. "We have to work together and find a way back home."

"Perhaps we should go _back_ to the time machine and see if it works. After all, the sun is _rising_ a bit," Malcolm suggested.

"Maybe Kilokahn is part vampire and he can only come out at _night_ ," Amp nodded.

Lydia shot a warning glance at Malcolm before looking back to Amp. "I don't think so, but maybe we can find help outside of this place. Just steer clear of the river."

Amp followed Lydia and Malcolm as they wandered out of the family room and into the foyer. "Wow, this place is _ginormous_!"

As they got to the door, Lydia grabbed the latch and pulled, but nothing happened. The door wouldn't budge.

"Here, let _me_ try," Malcolm quipped, but soon found himself grunting and pulling to no avail.

Amp had to bite his lip to keep from smirking. _It serves him right for acting like a sexist jerk. Lydia could do way better than him. Why can't she see he's nothing more than a bitter bully?_

"Great. We're trapped in here," Lydia sighed, her shoulders slouching. "At least the natives have grown quiet."

"So, _now_ what? We're trapped inside Casa de Kilokahn and _he_ ," Malcolm stopped, pointing to Amp, "is the only help we _have_. In other words, we're _doomed_."

"I think we should look around for a while," Amp suggested, ignoring Malcolm's remark. "Maybe we can find another way out."

"Good idea. Malcolm, why don't you take the first floor and Amp and I will check out the second?" Lydia suggested.

Malcolm made some sort of noise between a whine and a growl. "Why do you have to go with _him_?"

"Because he gets lost easily."

"Because I get lost easily," Amp replied in unison, instantly looking at her in awe and wonder seconds afterwards. _How did she know that? It's like she read my mind!_

Malcolm clenched his hands into fists and exhaled slowly. " _Fine_ ," he seethed before storming off.

"Gee, what's _his_ problem?" Amp asked as they began climbing the stairs.

"I know this place seems nice, but we're kind of on edge. Kilokahn's vengeful behavior is starting to take its toll," she responded. "Just stay close, okay?"

"You got it."

* * *

Lydia tried not to hide her disappointment that she was unable to find another computer or a laptop to try and reconnect with Sam and the others. Not that she wasn't glad Amp was there, but Amp really wasn't the hero type. He was more of the goofy sidekick who didn't really have special powers or abilities, but was there merely for moral support. And sadly for Lydia, it just meant another person besides Malcolm to worry about.

"Hey, Lydia, check _this_ out!" Amp shouted from the next room.

"Is it a comp-," she began, but stopped when she saw it was a game room, complete with pool table, foosball table, air hockey, dartboard, and old arcade games among others.

"Wanna play?" Amp asked, going to the air hockey table and moving the paddle around erratically.

"We really should keep going," she responded, pointing to the next room.

"Come on. One game… _please_?" he asked, clasping his hands together like a child and sticking his bottom lip out.

Lydia rolled her eyes and giggled. "Okay, fine. One game," she walked over to the other side of the table and found the puck and her paddle.

"Yay!" he cried before they began playing. Lydia was genuinely surprised at how good Amp was. Every attempt she made to get past him, he sprang into action, blocking it with his paddle and sending it flying back her way.

"Hey, Malcolm," she suddenly said nonchalantly, causing Amp to look to the doorway. It was then that she seized her moment and expertly slid the puck past him and into the net. "Ha! I win!"

"Hey, no fair. You _cheated_ , you big cheater," he scolded her. "Best two out of three?"

Lydia shook her head and walked away from the table. "No. Maybe later. Do you hear that sound?"

Amp came over and stood beside her. "Oh, no you don't. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, ain't that a shame," he told her.

Lydia put her finger to her lips. "I'm _serious_. It sounds like creaking. Like the floor is suddenly wanting to give-"

Before she could finish, the floor did give way, sending her and Amp crashing down below into a small dark room. When Lydia looked up from where she was, she saw they had fallen through a trap door, which was now automatically closing.

"I guess you weren't fooling," Amp muttered. "Where are we?"

Lydia stood up and helped Amp to his feet. Feeling along the wall, she managed to find a small light switch and a low wattage light bulb flickered on from near the trap door. "Looks like a room with nothing but an empty bookcase. Let's go find Malcolm and tell him about the trap door."

Amp nodded and went to the door to open it. "Um, that might not work. I think the door is locked."

Lydia groaned. "Of _course_ it is. Why wouldn't it be? _Dammit_!" She immediately began pounding on the door with her fist. "Malcolm! Malcolm, we're locked in!"

After a few minutes, Lydia stopped. "It's no use. We need to look for some other way out."

Amp began feeling the walls and the floor, Lydia assumed, to be looking for another trap door or exit.

"Hey, I think I found it! I see a vent behind the bookcase. Help me move it out of the way," she told him, thanking her lucky stars that she was going to outsmart Kilokahn yet again.

Amp nodded and together, they managed to slowly push it out of the way. Lydia again was thankful that the vent was big enough that both of them could fit through rather easily. "Okay, now give me a hand so I can open the vent."

"Okay, But I don't know why you need _applause_ for it," he replied before clapping.

Lydia gritted her teeth and coughed. "No, Amp. Give me a hand as in give me a boost up so I can get the _vent_ cover off."

"Oh, right. I knew that," he responded softly before linking his hands together and holding them palms up so she could use them as a step.

Lydia gently placed her foot onto Amp's laced fingers and looked at the vent. _Now if I can just pry the cover off,_ she thought to herself, realizing she needed to do it quickly before she fell. Using her nails to slide behind the vent cover, she pulled slightly and the cover came off quite easily. But when the vent was opened, a sudden feeling overwhelmed her and she jerked as if someone had blown air into her face. "Amp," she gasped before she felt herself become light-headed and she fell.

Amp managed to catch her, but just barely. "Whoa, are you alright?"

She turned to him, her eyes watering and glossy. "Pull your shirt up over your mouth and nose; hurry."

"Why?" he asked, taking his white shirt and doing what she asked, while she did the same.

"Gas. Some sort of gas…toxic if inhaled…" she whispered before she slumped down, her back against the wall. She knew she was going to lose consciousness. She had already inhaled quite a bit and could feel her lungs getting heavy.

"Lydia, you can't fall asleep _now_ ," Amp whined, taking off his loud multi-colored Hawaiian buttoned shirt off and covering her head and face with it.

"Kilokahn…Malcolm…" Lydia whispered before sleep overtook her.

* * *

Malcolm walked into the library and spun the large globe on a wooden stand. There were so many books. Rows and rows of hardcovers and paperbacks. Even a rolling ladder to reach the ones on the top shelves. How he loved the smell of old books almost as much as he loved computers. _Maybe in one of these beauties is a master plan on how to destroy my foes once and for all,_ he thought with a wicked chuckle. "There's no telling _when_ my girlfriend and that _dolt_ will be back, so I have _plenty_ of time to browse." Slowly walking over to the far wall, he found a shelf on computers. "They even have these books classified by the Dewey _Decimal_ system. How _marvelous_."

He slid his fingers across each of the books' spines across one of the shelves, but suddenly stopped at one that seemed to stand out. "Wait; what's _this_? Kilometric Knowledge-base Animate Human _Nullity_? Why this is a book on _Kilokahn_!" he cried, pulling the book out from it's place and looking at the peach cover with black lettering. He started to walk away and over to the large blue chair to begin reading, but before he could, he felt the ground underneath him shake. "What's happening?" he squealed, trying not to panic as he and the shelf began moving, slowly turning until he was no longer in the library but in another room he had never seen. "Well, _that_ couldn't have gotten any weirder," he stated, shuddering before glancing back down at the very book that triggered the event.

But it did. The next noise he heard sent shivers down his spine and made him drop his book to the floor. It was the sound of someone or something pounding furiously behind a nearby door. Followed by an almost unearthly yelling. Malcolm's legs began shaking as his brain told him to run. His curiosity was much louder, however, and he slowly followed the noise until he reached a closet door.

Wincing, he grabbed the doorknob and slowly turned. _I'll open the door really quickly and then run for my life,_ he decided, his heart racing. _Three…two…one…now!_ He quickly threw open the door, but before he had a chance to run screaming, the thing behind the door pounced on top of him, sending them both to the ground. Malcolm closed his eyes, ready for his certain death as he felt the thing's hot breath against his face and it's sharp claws digging into his arm. _Goodbye, my Lydia. Goodbye…_


	7. Ky-DEL

"Boy, am I glad to see _you_!"

He watched as Malcolm slowly opened one eye before his pained expression changed to one worse: full fury. " _Amp_? What are you-? Get _off_ of me, you psychotic _moron!"_ he shouted before pushing him away.

"Sorry,"Amp muttered before gasping. "Lydia! She's unconscious! Help me get her out of this room and close the door."

Malcolm scrambled to his feet and saw Lydia, her body slumped over with Amp's shirt covering her face. "What have you _done_ to her?" he threw Amp's shirt at him and lifted Lydia into his arms before taking her out of the room and kicking the door shut. "Answer me, you spineless _wimp_!"

Amp flinched and recoiled at his tone, but quickly regained his composure. "I didn't do _anything_ to her. We fell through a trap door and into that room. She was trying to help us escape, but she said there was poisonous gas coming through the vent. I guess she accidentally inhaled a lot of it, cause she passed right out."

"Well, _stay_ with her. I'll get some water to hopefully wake her," Malcolm lay her back down on the floor gently before dashing off.

Amp sat on the floor by her, his knees tucked under his chin, rocking back and forth. "Please be okay, Lyds. _Please_ be okay," he repeated. He was still a little lightheaded, himself, from the gas, but he couldn't think about anything else but her well-being. "Come on, Lydia. Wake up and give 'ol Amp a smile."

As if on cue, Lydia began waking up, coughing. It wasn't a smile, but Amp wasn't complaining. " _That's_ my girl," he told her, helping her sit up.

Malcolm ran back into the room with a bottle of water. "Here, drink this," he opened it and handed it to her.

Amp watched as her cheeks regained their color as she took a sip. _Thank goodness she's going to be alright._

"Here, Amp. Take a drink of this since you are possibly light-headed, too," Lydia offered the bottle to him. For a moment, he mentally panicked. Both of his parents warned him not to drink after other people, and he worried Malcolm might object. If there was one thing he knew about Malcolm, it was how territorial he was. Even sharing his girlfriend's spittle might send him over the edge.

"Oh, just _drink_ it already; we can't have _you_ falling and tipping over," Malcolm barked.

Amp took the water happily and took a drink. "Nice to know you care, Malcolm."

Malcolm growled and helped a still slightly unsteady Lydia to her feet. "Well, so much for us splitting _up_. From now on, we stay _together_ …no matter _how_ much it kills us."

Amp grabbed his buttoned Hawaiian shirt and put it back on over his white tee. He now understood that Malcolm and Lydia weren't overreacting when they said they were in trouble. If Kilokahn was behind the trap door and the poisonous gas, he had it in for them in a big way. But _why_? And how was he able to do that stuff if he was only an artificial intelligence program? All Amp knew for sure was that Malcolm was right: they needed each other if they were going to manage to defeat Kilokahn. _I sure wish Sam were here right now; he'd know what to do. But until then, I have to keep my wits about me and have a calm and level head to figure out what—_

Suddenly, Malcolm turned around to face them and Amp let out a strangled cry. "Sorry. I was thinking too hard," he apologized. _I really wish my brain had an off switch,_ he added mentally.

* * *

"While you two were off… _exploring_ , I did some of my own and you won't _believe_ what I found," Malcolm continued, leading the way, walking backwards so he could look at them while explaining his treasure. "I dropped it after hearing horrible noises which I found later came from Amp, but while I was in the library room, I found a book on _Kilokahn_! I took the book out of its place on the shelf and the entire _bookcase_ and floor _beneath_ me moved, revealing a secret _passageway_ or _entrance_! Isn't that _exciting_?"

"Wait; you found a book on _Kilokahn_?" Lydia stopped, causing Amp to bump into her.

"Yes, and then the bookcase turned to reveal a whole _new_ area, which was how I was able to find you," Malcolm repeated.

"I want to see the book."

Malcolm's face fell. "You find the book more exciting than what happened _afterwards_? Considering if the bookcase hadn't moved, I never would have come to your _rescue_?"

Lydia pointed to the room next to the library. "You mean _that_ bookcase? Malcolm, it didn't take you to a secret part of the mansion; it just placed you into the next room."

Malcolm looked and sure enough, his hopes were dashed as he saw the bookcase on the wall in the room right next door. No big surprise, no secret passageway, just another bland room that saved him a few measly steps by riding the bookcase. "Well, that's just _ridiculous_. What kind of twisted people have a hidden entrance into the next room without it being _secret_?"

Lydia ran in and picked the book up off the floor. "I take it Kilokahn is the acronym for this title?"

"Yes. But what is it _doing_ here?"

"Maybe this is Kilokahn's memoirs," Amp suggested. " _How I Became An Evil Program_."

Malcolm rolled his eyes and Lydia stifled a giggle. Leave it to Amp to make everything into a lame joke.

Lydia opened the book and flipped through the first few pages. "'Everything Kilokahn is today is owed all to _Ky-DEL_ '?" she read. "Who or what exactly is Ky-DEL?"

Malcolm didn't know or care at that particular moment. Kilokahn was who he was because of _him_ , not some weirdo called Ky-DEL! _You came to me, Kilokahn, remember? You needed someone to design mega-virus monsters so that you could bring them to life. And how many times did I help you? But this is the thanks I get? No dedication, no mention, nothing?_ Malcolm mentally verbalized at Kilokahn, wherever he was. _Well, thanks for nothing to you too, pal!_ He knew he was also the one who attempted to get rid of Kilokahn, but did all his help in the past get _erased_ now that the new kid was in town? "We need to find this Ky-DEL person and give him a piece of—I mean, find out who he _is_ and what he _does_ for Kilokahn." _Then, I'll destroy him, get Kilokahn to come crawling back to me and offer him Servo's head on a platter. That should get him to leave my honey and I alone for good. But in order to get Collins to willfully surrender, I guess I'll have to first get rid of one of his own. Shouldn't be too hard to kill off Amp. Most of his brain cells are long gone already. But it'll be just like those old horror movies; the dumb ones always die first._

* * *

 _Who names their kid Ky-DEL? No wonder he probably took up with Kilokahn. I'd want revenge against the world, too, if I was given that wretched name,_ Lydia thought to herself. She turned around to ask Amp if he was feeling better, but he wasn't behind her. Instead, he was in the far corner of the room, literally digging in a potted plant. "Um, Amp? May I ask what you're doing to the ficus?"

"There was something _shiny_ in here," he replied, not looking up from his task.

"You've either lost your marbles completely or you are _looking_ for them," Malcolm muttered.

Lydia walked over to Amp and tried to dodge the flying dirt. "Amp, this isn't a good time to fool around."

"I'm not _fooling_. I saw something really shiny in the soil but now I can't find it. It looked kinda like a—"

As if on cue, a tiny piece of metal flew through the air and Malcolm picked it up as soon as it hit the ground. "Well, I'll be _damned_ ; Boy Wonder really _did_ find a lost treasure. It's some sort of key. But what on _Earth_ could it possibly open?"

"Not sure, but we had better hang on to it in case we need it in the future," she rationalized, looking at the small golden key. _I hope it opens some doorway to escape this place and it's not a trap._ "I'll put it in my pocket for safekeeping."

Malcolm jerked away from her. "Why do you have to be the _keeper_ of everything? You have the only working flashlight, you have that strange little device that let us find Collins' address, and now you have possession of the _book_ I found. _I'll_ keep the key."

"Hey, no fair; I saw it _first_ ," Amp argued, hands on his hips.

"And you tossed it into the air, where it fell on the floor for me to _take_! Keep your grubby mitts _off_!"

"But I'll keep it safe, I promise. I kept a ball of lint in my pocket for _years_ once. Or maybe it was a ball of _hair_ …"

Lydia quickly placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly as they continued to argue. As she did so, Malcolm jumped, dropping the key and Amp quickly swiped it and stashed it in his left shirt pocket.

"What did you do _that_ for?" Malcolm shouted angrily.

"To stop you guys from fighting. Look, let Amp have the key, okay? You can keep the book, I don't care. We just need to focus and keep _moving_ ," she responded before shoving the book in Malcolm's hands.

"Thanks, Lydia," Amp whispered after Malcolm walked away.

"I'm trusting you with that key, Amp. Don't let me down so I have to eat crow."

"Ew! Why would you _have_ to?"

Lydia rolled her eyes and grabbed Amp by the arm. "Come on." _I love Amp and Malcolm to death, but why do I feel like I'm dealing with either Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy?_


End file.
